Yo! Dreadlocks are SO not white!

  Looking at all of these people makes me itchy, but anyway, this woman is said to be a college employee at University of California San Francisco. She resents the flea bitten white kid's dread locks, complaining he is appropriating her race. Or something.
  Just to throw in another libelous accusation, she claims he's putting his "hands on" her, which he had to do to get her hands off him.
  Seriously that kid looks like he's a puppet the way he bounces up and down.
  But, then, that employee has bugs in her hair so.
  Racial healing.
  It's so much better since Obama.
 

Trump needs to knock off the stream of consciousness shtick

  So he got himself into trouble again last night with blabbing something about abortion. 
  Why he couldn't see the setup by Chris Matthews I don't know. Just like Stephanolopolous starting the whole birth control meme with Romney--a  non item--Matthews got what he wanted from Trump, who fell right into the trap.
  Honestly. He's going to have to get better at repartee if he wants to win this mess.
  Previously I wrote that Michelle Fields's accusation against Trump's campaign manager is ludicrous but I should add that Lewandowski should have shut up with the stream of consciousness tweets by claiming he didn't touch her or know her.
  So really, people.
  Stop with the stream of consciousness stuff and think about what you say before you say it.
  OTOH, I'm trying to imagine Matthews or any other msm personality saying to Hillary Clinton, "This is not something you dodge. It's not funny."
  As a matter of fact, I"d like to hear anyone say that to Hillary Clinton about any of the ongoing problems with her truthfulness, illegal foundation donations, illegal IT activity.
  But sheesh.
  What a mess this campaign season has been.

Fields's accusation stinks

  This week has been quite exciting eventful with numerous little incidents  blown into huge pimples on the face of politics.
  Let's start with Michelle Fields' absurd accusation that Trump's campaign manager "assaulted" her.
  Seriously? You're a reporter?
  I didn't even need to know to she has a history of accusing people of crimes and assaulting/touching her.

  I didn't need to know that her mother is a pro-immigration activist who works against Trump and benefits financially through her pro-immigration activism.
  I didn't need to know that Fields violated Secret Service "field of protection" guidelines by reaching out to grab Trump, who wears a bullet proof vest, in an attempt to ask him questions.
  I didn't need to see Fields's photo of her supposed bruised arm, which some have claimed is the photo of an obese person's arm.

  What I care about is that Michelle Fields, pictured above, has made a huge deal out of nothing. She's using the Left's whiny victimology to try to win an argument. 
  If she really thinks Lewandowski assaulted her, then for him to apologize as she demanded shouldn't have been an option.
  It appears to me---an elderly retiree in flyover country---that Fields has thrown in with the Republican establishment in an attempt to do anything possible to discredit Trump and boost the establishment's chances of winning or moving to a brokered convention.
  Does anyone really think the establishment will allow Cruz to be the nominee?
  No.
  They're using Cruz and Kasich to splinter the vote away from Kasich. (For my own part, I still am having trouble believing that Kasich really won the state of Ohio. He has a reputation for bullying his own party in this state. Indeed he said the other day that he wouldn't be opposed to running a Democrat as VP if he would miraculously become the nominee.)
  I'm sorry about this because I have admired Fields's work but she really has discredited herself and essentially made herself unhireable.
  Except by MSNBC.
  They seem to like those wacko types.

Only a contested convention can save Cruz

If you think the primaries have dragged on too long you may want to console yourself with the reality that as far a the duration of time is concerned we have yet to reach the halfway mark. There are 65 days remaining until June 7 when California, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico and South Dakota vote. For all practical purpose the remaining contests are Trump versus No Trump referenda. It is a mathematical impossibility for John Kasich to collect the necessary 1237 delegates needed to win the nomination. For Ted Cruz call it an extremely low probability.
At present only 914 delegates remain and to secure the nomination Cruz needs 772. The Wisconsin primary is listed as winner take all which is something of a misnomer. The winner in each of its 8 congressional districts will take all 3 delegates but of the remaining 18 delegates, 15 will serve at-large. Wisconsin's at-large delegates will be allocated on a winner-take-all basis. The candidate who wins a plurality of the statewide vote will receive all of the state's at-large delegates. In addition, three national party leaders will serve as bound delegates to the Republican National Convention. The RNC delegates will be required to pledge their support to the winner of the state's primary. In a nutshell, winning Wisconsin is not apt to be decisive for either Trump or Cruz but there will be 42 fewer delegates left reducing the outstanding count to 872. At present Cruz has a slight lead so for the sake of argument assume he wins statewide and carries 5 congressional districts. That would give him 33 delegates leaving him needing 739.
Looking forward to April 19, New York, where Trump leads handily, offers 95 delegates proportionally allocated. Each of the 27 congressional districts will award 2 delegates to the first place winner and 1 to second place with the remaining 14 delegates allocated proportionally unless one candidate receives 50% of the vote in which case he would take all. Trump leads in the Real Clear Politics average of polls with 54.5%. One might expect that to tighten but assume Trump does pull 50% and carries 18 congressional districts. He goes home with 50 delegates leaving Kasich and Cruz to divvy up the remaining 45. Kasich is probably stronger than Cruz so give him 30, leaving Cruz with 15 ruing the day he mentioned Trump's New York values. The outstanding delegate pool is reduced to 777 with Cruz needing 724.
Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island vote on April 26 putting 172 delegates on the line. No polling is available for Delaware and Rhode Island but Trump leads substantially in the remaining 3 states. Suppose Trump is having a bad day and only wins 58 delegates while Cruz and Kasich bag 57 each. Cruz would need 667 of the remaining 605 delegates. Under this scenario Trump would have only 856 delegates, needing another 381 to reach the required 1237 but this scenario probably downplays his strength. He would have to win 63% of the remaining delegates but as stated the scenario is exceedingly stingy.
It's doubtful either Cruz or Kasich will fold up their campaigns after April 26 but it's going to be exceedingly hard to court votes when the voters know that only a convention can bestow the nomination on one of the two candidates who could not win it on his own. Can Cruz with a straight face intone, "I am the only candidate who can beat Donald Trump"? Can Kasich spoon feed the voters enough bullshit to convince more than a few to waste a vote on him? After April 26 the only votes that will count are votes for Donald Trump.

Obama's version of capitalism sure benefits him

  In his best lecturer mode, Obama paces back and forth, no doubt reminiscent of the days when his college students hung on every profound word he utters, here Obama says:"You don’t have to worry about whether it really fits into socialist theory or capitalist theory. You should just decide what works..." because, you know.
  Capitalism has been so rough on him.
  And America is SO rough on him.
  Like when he took 2 jets on his latest trip so that he could run the family over for a fabulous day trip. And, yeah. $200000 an hour to run each one of those jets.
  There's really not much difference between capitalism and communism or socialism, because communism and socialism has not worked everywhere it's been tried, eh? That's Obama's theory.
  He's the one always griping about inequity but as a taxpayer I have to pay his bills.
  Seems fair. 
  Because he's a one percenter.

Michelle O explains how hard her life is

  Maybe I can't get it through my noggin that the one percenters--those who fly around the world for that very special piece of cake--really really don't care about people themselves or any of the causes they so vociferously push on the unwashed masses.
  That's why when I hear people like BO and Queen Michelle gripe about how mean people were/are to them, I just can't quite believe my ears.
  So the other day Michelle Obama lectured the populace about the "rough" treatment she received as a young women when this terrible thing happened. (I have to say her history of grievances has an air of UNBELIEVABILITY to it, but, hey, maybe a construction worker had bad eyesight.) From the Daily Mail:

As I got older, I found that men would whistle at me as I walked down the street, as if my body were their property, as if I were an object to be commented on instead of a full human being with thoughts and feelings of my own,' Obama said in a speech in Argentina on Wednesday.

'I began to realize that the hopes I had for myself were in conflict with the messages I was receiving from people around me,' she said at the 'Let Girls Learn' initiative. 

  Here she is in her finery griping about how she had to learn to "listen to my own voice," as if she hasn't been doing that all her life. 
  Sheesh. You ride around in a 7 ton limo with people whose job it is to take a bullet for you and take a separate government plane to get to Hawaii a couple hours before the hubby and you think you're spreading good will and examples by bi%ching about your country and how mean everyone is to you.
  Delusional. So, hey. Move to Cuba.

A Cruz bombshell...how much is true?

  Sometimes there's a difference between news and gossip; other times--well, gossip IS news, especially if there are facts behind the gossip.
  Anyway, it looks to me like there's a game changer in the wind for the election.
  Yes, it's being "broken" in the National Enquirer which one might remember also broke the story of John Edwards and several others' shenanigans.
  You might have noticed an unusual synergy between two Republican candidates' wives' backgrounds. Turns out the story isn't really about the wives as much as one husband.
  It's called #thething on Twitter.
  While families (wives) should be off limits, the candidates themselves are not. (I might add if you have a wife who has done photo shoots no other FLOTUS has ever done, she really is part of your story too but I digress.)
  Three of the women have been identified and several confirmed.
  This story has been around since before March 10; today will be a big day for it, as it appears media has been ignoring it.
  It's also strange that Carly Fiorina's campaign received a $500,000 donation from the Cruz campaign and that that address is the same as the address for the PAC which posted the nude Melania photo. One of the identified women worked for the Fiorina campaign. Hm. 
  In addition, a Washington Times reporter has confirmed two of the women.
  Sometimes (most of the time) I hate politics. This is a shame. considering that Heidi Cruz has had some mental health issues, as many Americans have for various reasons.
  Read the links and decide for yourself. 
  This looks like a rough weekend for Cruz, regardless. 
UPDATE: One says no.

Bill Clinton video: yikes!

  Just as Old Bill went off the reservation the other day by claiming that Obama's administration has been an "awful last eight years," one might wonder what the heck is going on with his health.
  Take a look at this video; he looks sort of...."disconnected"??

  Between Hillary's coughing, occasional medical glasses, rumors of ill health and Bill's apparent..."disconnection," these two aren't exactly suited to be running much of anything.

Cop reveals truth about Trump rallies

  It's incomprehensible that the media reports the Trump rallies as "Trump violence" or "conservative violence" or "violence that accompanies Trump rallies."
  These are left wing protesters who will protest ANY Republican candidate.

Explaining Trump to non believers

As my partner noted I am a Trump supporter and I suspect her post is her gentle way of prodding me into defending my choice. Trump is actually my third choice. I began favoring Rick Perry who I like and I figured could redeem himself from his fatal lapse of memory in the debate 4 years ago when he could not remember the third cabinet level department he would eliminate. I was wrong about that as Perry wilted in a Trump counter attack. With some disappointment and misgivings I turned my attention to Scott Walker who for some reason offered no personal attraction but certainly had a conservative record. By late September he had run himself out of money despite a large beginning balance leaving me without a candidate.
By this time it was evident to me that Trump was a different breed of cat. He said the most outrageous things and his polling strength only increased. This guy was magic! Bulletproof! Every attack backfired leaving the attacker clinging to his political life.

They put arsenic in his meat
And stared aghast to watch him eat;
They poured strychnine in his cup
And shook to see him drink it up:
They shook, they stared as white’s their shirt:
Them it was their poison hurt.

It wasn't what Trump said but rather what his supporters said that attracted me. They are aggrieved and for good cause. They have paid the price for inept and corrupt trade and immigration policies. I have watched my community's largest employer, Whirlpool Corp, cashier out thousands of loyal employees and flee to Mexico. I am watching a huge aluminum smelter in a neighboring county simply close. I have seen whole neighborhoods ruined by vacant homes, homes that have not been occupied since the financial melt down 8 years ago when it uncreditworthy sub prime owners just walked away. The Washington establishment should consider itself lucky if all the voters do is vote them out. And what did the GOP field of candidates have to offer? More of the same.
When the congressional debate on TPP hit peak angst in early summer slimming down the field of possible candidates was made easier when I stumbled across a Wall Street Journal editorial written by future Speaker Paul Ryan and Senator Ted Cruz entitled Putting Congress in Charge on Trade wherein the made they made the dubious argument that giving Obama fast track authority on the treaty gave congress leverage. They even used the tried and true platitude "a level playing field". Good-bye Ted Cruz. Nothing would please me more than to see you and your good friend Paul Ryan picking oranges in Florida. By July the constitutional scholar from Canada had joined Glenn Beck at the border to pass out teddy bears and soccer balls to newly arrived illegal aliens. Maybe he could just throw sand in the voters' faces or tread on the flag and save himself time.
So by default here I am a Trump supporter but just because the choice was not clear in the beginning does not lessen my loyalty to the man. The question is, or rather was, frequently asked why Trump supporters are oblivious to his many shortcomings. Have you ever heard of blind rage? It's not totally blind but when he is compared to the remaining candidates he alone is addressing the issues they care about. They will overlook 3 marriages and Twitter tirades at Megyn Kelly as part of the bargain. His tone at his rallies is beginning to be shopworn if one has viewed a score or so on live stream but each seem to offer a surprise personal aside as he interacts with a veteran, a Nicaraguan  emigree or points out a Sikhs for Trump sign. Yes, Sikhs, Muslims, Hispanics and blacks are frequently seen at his events. How deep that support runs will eventually be determined but who has seen a Sikhs for Hillary sign? Diverse religious and ethic supporters are drawn to Trump for the same reason white Christian voters are. Nationalism, rage and a hope to find a voice not available anywhere else.
But the violence at the rallies? Putting aside the violence in recent weeks that has been fomented by outside groups and their frequently paid demonstrators Trump supporters are hardly terrorists. To those who say some have been handled roughly I would ask about the decorum of their union meetings. I remember vividly the first annual general membership meeting I attended. Probably not by accident the meeting hall was above a Moose Lodge so much of the membership had, as my dad would have said, taken libation. If there were any actual fist fights I missed them but the shoving and shouting, the standing on chairs to be seen and heard left an indelible memory. After the meeting was adjourned members laughed as they recounted the spirited antics. When people who get their hands dirty argue they frequently use their hands to make their points. Fists are slammed on tables, walls are punched, fingers wag in other's faces. Slapping someone's hat off borders on the extreme but I have seen Rand and Ron Paul supporters just as excited as any Trump devotee. No one is conscripted to attend a Trump rally and if the speaker sounds like a union bull steward that's what you get. One hundred proof whiskey is not for everyone.
Trump's tax proposals are a mixed bag but merely the starting point. I find reducing the corporate tax rate to 15% downright exciting. While some may argue legitimately that it would produce a 15 trillion dollar short fall over 10 years they do not take into account the 2 to 21/2 trillion in corporate profits sitting offshore which would most probably be repatriated in the first two years giving total tax revenue a pleasant but one time bounce. Still 15% of 2 trillion is preferable to 0% of 2 trillion. Another benefit of a 15% rate is almost all tax loopholes are meaningless. Why would a corporation try to reduce its effective rate from 39 to 24 percent by donating to to Planned Parenthood, National Review or the World Wildlife Fund when it could simply pay 15%? Furthermore when it becomes apparent to the shareholders that a donation to the Kasich for President Campaign Committee is coming out of their dividend check corporate money will play a smaller role in political campaigns.
The other side of the lost tax revenue coin is never mentioned. Does a corporation suddenly finding itself awash in profits simply burn the cash? No. Lost tax revenue to the IRS is the other side of cheaper prices and higher wages and more stock dividends.
Trump critics have expended much verbiage on the cost and futility of building about 1,000 miles of border wall. Oh, it would run over private property, it would displace some people, it would bother the sand lizards but it would not encounter any problem not faced in the construction of the new Interstate 69, the so called NAFTA Highway, nor would it cost a fraction of that project. He would deport millions of illegals. Yes, it's mandated under existing law and if he does not get all 11 million it does not mean he is a failure. This would be the only federal program that is pass / fail in a country where TSA fails to detect contraband more than 90% of the time and Obamacare in spite of hundreds of billions in cost leaves 30 million Americans uninsured.
Have you in the past 5 years ever made an inquiry about your credit card, sought technical support for your printer or tried to make sense of a bollixed up online order and reached someone who spoke understandable English? This massive offshoring of American labor has not yet surfaced in the trade debate but it is part and parcel of the same trickery as the H 1 visa scams. One of the subtle change in the World Trade Organization's language was to expand the agreement not only to include the exchange of good but also the exchange of services. Ergo short of withdrawing from the World Trade Organization there is nothing Congress can do to prevent more of the same. As the constitution entrusts to the president the power to conduct foreign policy it would be within the power of a President Trump to demand changes to that or any other treaty, NAFTA included, as the price for continued U.S. participation. Also as president, Trump could suspend all trade with China and demand restitution when a U.S. institution, governmental or private is a victim of Chinese hacking.
Could Donald Trump keep all his campaign promises? He probably will not be 100 percent successful. On the other hand he is the single candidate of either party who has offered to try.

Explaining Trump

  As any reader/s of this column know/s, my blogging buddy Hoosierman and I have disagreed about Trump for many reasons.
  As the campaigns heat up, our country's situation is becoming more dramatic and consequential every day.
  I have a close Christian friend who says if it comes down to Trump and Clinton, her vote may be for Clinton because of Trump's morality issues. It's as if Clinton's lying and putting national security at risk is not as significant as Trump's swagger and foul mouth.
  I might suggest to my Christian friends that the future of the country is at stake: we know what Hillary will do with Supreme Court nominees but we don't know what Trump will do.
  We know she will compromise our security because she doesn't care about this country; she isn't a patriot.
  Yes, Trump has numerous morality issues and can we trust him?
  The answer to that question: we've trusted the Paul Ryans and Mitch McConnells, not to mention Orrin Hatches and Jeff Flakes, for many, many years. Where has that gotten us? 
  So whom can we trust?
  The best commentary I've read on Trump is from Victor David Hanson here at, believe it or not, National Review:

But is he uniquely dangerous, ignorant, or cruel in terms of either distant or recent American presidential history?  

 I don’t think so. [SNIP]

Those are grounds enough for rejecting him. But what we don’t need is high talk about Trump as something uniquely sinister, a villain without precedent in American electoral history or indeed public life. That is simply demonstrably false. Trump thrives despite, not because of, his crudity, and largely because of anger at Barack Obama’s divisive and polarizing governance and sermonizing — and the Republican party’s habitual consideration of trade issues, debt, immigration, and education largely from the vantage point of either abstraction or privilege.

  Hanson enumerates Trump's flaws and with each flaw, he points to the Democrat parallel, established years ago.
  The problem for both Republicans & Democrats who direct vitriol at Trump is that he is fighting back. Not just arguing, but really fighting back.
   This is unique in our politics. Republicans don't fight back.
  They don't stampede.
  They don't threaten violence.
  In groups, they don't even litter.
  Trump's tactics are as reprehensible at times as.....Democrats.
  Do those Republicans who despise Trump not understand that these same tactics will be employed--perhaps in moderation with a different candidate--to whomever is the Republican running for president?
  And will that Republican candidate be capable not only of fighting back adequately but winning the argument?
  Make no mistake.
  Democrats created Donald Trump, Republican candidate for president.
  They're the ones who fight dirty. They're the ones who mock, ridicule, isolate the target and then repeat the lies until the little fools (who can be bought) have it drilled into their heads.
  No, Trump isn't my candidate of choice. Not in a million years. But there's something to be said for fighting back. I'm not justifying any of Trump's behavior. 
  But we are on a course that cannot be reversed.
  Can Cruz win? I don't know, but I know he has a high unlikeability factor even among Republicans. People just don't like him, his voice, his manner, his face. Unfair as that may be, it is reality.
  Voting for Hillary will wrap it up, wrap up this nation in more debt, more violence, more racial divide, more government and regulations. She's 
already talking about getting us flyover folks to enroll illegals--people breaking the laws of our country--at our own expense.
  As it is, much of the money--billions of dollars--earned by illegal lawbreakers is sent to their home country. 
  As it is, 25% of Mexico lives in the US. 
  As it is, the IRS pays free money back to illegals who've never paid taxes.
  We do this but we don't have enough money and regulations to help our veterans and fire bad VA employees?
  Another thing: the fact that other nations are concerned that Trump wins-- that the McConnell types are freaked-- that the DC power brokers are frantic that they will lose their power--that's a good sign, not bad.
  The fact that Soros is paying top dollar to disrupters to stop Trump means they're worried he will win.
  It's a sign that they don't think they can control him.
  And if they try to depose the will of the people....well, there'll be hell to pay if they try that and I have a feeling they'll regret it in the long run.

Nicaraguan Woman Praises Trump at Cincinnati Rally.

This is the guy who will have trouble winning the Hispanic vote?

A more accurate account of what went on at the canceled Trump rally.

From Second City Cop Blog

Instead of looping the same footage for endless hours maybe cable news might want to give an accurate account of what transpired in Chicago at the Trump rally. Notice the hackneyed Occupy Wall Street chants.



As the evening wore on the protest / riot picked up steam.

No! I am not a conservative.

I believe it's fair to say that Donald Trumps's bid for the presidency is based upon two general themes, immigration enforcement and trade. In the broader public immigration enforcement (notice he says little about reform) has elicited the most outrage but in conservative circles his prescriptions for trade cause apoplexy. In the minds of the doctrinaire keepers of the holy grail of American conservatism Trump is worse than any outsider. He is a heretic. Just as adherents to religious principles can be quite tolerant of non believers while burning heretics of their own religion at the stake the conservative, establishment punditry exhibits a visceral animus toward Trump that they have never displayed toward Obama or Hillary. One can imagine a very cordial conference with the staff of National Review and Senator Elizabeth Warren where genteel folk of good breeding exchange witticisms and compliments over wine and brie but never with the apostate Trump.
There is another dimension to the Republican schism which is the gap between Trump and the Republican leadership based upon a more mundane difference namely money. Elected official of all persuasions are corruptible and at this point public outrage at that corruption has boiled over. Not every congressman or senator has personally benefited from the corruption but many have. Peter Schweizer and CBS's 60 Minutes revealed that John Kerry and spouse used insider information to pick stocks and where did former Speaker and pedophile Dennis Hastert get the cash to pay hush money? He bought land that was about to be taken for federal highways but not yet in public knowledge. The more common form of political corruption is the one that Trump calls out. Those who finance campaigns frequently call the tune to which the elected dance. With the growth of the federal government the demand for special treatment has increased in the areas of legislation, regulation and taxation leaving the electorate with an regulatory mess that is all but unenforceable and 70,000 pages of tax loopholes. Rather than tinker with election laws it may be better to reduce the scope of government and the complexity of the tax code. Tax rates are high for a reason. They serve as an incentive to seek loopholes which gives donors the incentive to donate to campaigns.
Returning to the conservative punditry class, their chief purpose seems to be to provide intellectual justification for the bad policy pursuits of elected Republicans. One can excuse a Cruz or Rubio for scolding Trump for not being conservative. That's politics and they are probably correct depending upon one's view of conservatism but the rantings of the online pundits is breathtaking. Somehow they envision themselves to be the high priests of conservative theory. They probably are. Few academic conservatives exist these days. Certainly the Republican Party cannot be trusted to maintain doctrinal purity so the burden of saving the Western world has fallen upon the writers at National Review and a few sundry bloggers. On Twitter I refer to them as latter day pharisees. Just as the Old Testament pharisees prided themselves on the proper interpretation of the Talmud conservative pundits would like to be the final authority on conservatism especially where trade is concerned.
They are free traders to the hilt. Never mind that TPP and NAFTA go well beyond trade. NAFTA was the first trade pact to address intellectual property and that has worked out especially well for the pharmaceutical industry as drug patents are intellectual property. TPP would establish a trade court with judges not appointed by the president nor confirmed by the senate but whose decisions would be binding on all Americans who engage in regulated trade. Cruz was for TPP before he was against it and Rubio seems to float between positions as the politics of that day demand. Trump and Trump alone has consistently called it crap or some other earthy epithet. Again no one can blame Cruz, Rubio or Kasich for asking rhetorically if Trump would impose a 35% tariff on manufactured goods but when they bring Reagan's name into the argument they demonstrate either ignorance or hypocrisy. What did Reagan do? He slapped a 100% tariff on Japanese televisions and other selected electronics. He also forced foreign auto manufactures to build production facilities in this country if they wanted to sell autos in this country.
Compared to Reagan the modest proposals Trump has put forth make him look like a wuss. Among other things-way more than I care to paste here-Reagan;

-- Forced the Japanese into an agreement to control the price of computer memory-chip exports and increase Japanese purchases of American-made chips. When the agreement was allegedly broken, the administration imposed a 100 percent tariff on $300 million worth of electronics goods. This episode teaches a classic lesson in how protectionism comes back to haunt a country's producers. The quotas established as a result of the agreement have created a severe shortage of memory chips and higher prices for American computer makers, putting them at a disadvantage with foreign competitors. Only two American firms are still making these chips, accounting for a small percentage of the world market.
-- Removed Third World countries from the duty-free import program for developing nations on several occasions.
-- Pressed Japan to force its automakers to buy more American-made parts.
-- Demanded that Taiwan, West Germany, Japan, and Switzerland restrain their exports of machine tools, with some market shares rolled back to 1981 levels. Other countries were warned not to increase their shares of the U.S. market.
-- Accused the Japanese of dumping roller bearings, because the price did not rise to cover a fall in the value of the yen. The U.S. Customs Service was ordered to collect duties equal to the so-called dumping margins.
-- Accused the Japanese of dumping forklift trucks and color picture tubes.
-- Failed to ask Congress to end the ban on the export of Alaskan oil and of timber cut from federal lands, a measure that could substantially increase U.S. exports to Japan.
-- Redefined "dumping" in order "to make it easier to bring charges of unfair trade practices against certain competitors."
-- Beefed up the Export-Import Bank, an institution dedicated to promoting the exports of a handful of large companies at the expense of everyone else.
-- Extended quotas on imported clothespins.

Got that, Marco? Clothespins! So don't try to sell us the notion Reagan prosperity was based on free trade and Governor Kasich have you noticed how the price of prescription drugs jumped after you voted to enact NAFTA?
So who bears the brunt of bad trade deals? Could it be the same people who frequently support Trump? If you you are a writer for National Review or an opinion writer for the Washington Post your life is not dependent on the location of a factory or the price of sugar. Life goes on pretty smoothly regardless of who sits in the Oval Office. One would think that this detachment would bring about sober and reasoned thought but it in fact produces just the opposite. It produces idiocy and egomania. Blogger and part time tv talking head Erick Erickson announced he will never support Trump and actually expects to be taken seriously as if he were Walter Cronkite. His website features a post written by one of his flunkies encouraging reporters and others attending a Trump rally to go armed.

My advice for reporters and protestors visiting Donald Trump events is simple: You have a right to keep and bear arms. Use it. If Trump’s brownshirts know their targets are armed, they’ll get less handsy, fast.

Washington Post blogger Jennifer Rubin tweets about the need for her and her Twitter followers to rebuild the Republican Party post Trump. Oh yes, who better to handle that task than someone who has never worked outside a newsroom. One libertarian who I respect and who responds to my tweets appears to be involved in an effort to draft Condelesa Rice to run as a third party candidate should Trump win the nomination. Trump's people are the crazies?

In refusing to denoucne Trump @Reince and RNC act like Weimer Republic.. time for a new party, folks. Trump can have the old one

— Jennifer Rubin (@JRubinBlogger) February 28, 2016

As is often the case those who fight to stamp out heresy soon find themselves willing to stamp out heretics. The conservative movement rather than rethink its trade theories has decided to blame the victims of their faulty logic. If middle America starves it because they deserve it. Yes, this garbage coming from a writer who works for the not-for-profit entity National Review. NR writer Kevin Williamson, quoted by Breitbart;

“The truth about these dysfunctional, downscale communities is that they deserve to die. Economically, they are negative assets. Morally, they are indefensible,” the conservative writer says. “The white American under-class is in thrall to a vicious, selfish culture whose main products are misery and used heroin needles. Donald Trump’s speeches make them feel good. So does OxyContin. What they need isn’t analgesics, literal or political. They need real opportunity, which means that they need real change, which means that they need U-Haul. If you want to live, get out of Garbutt [a blue-collar town in New York.]”

If this is conservatism count me out. I want no part of this. The dysfunctional conservative media is intellectually and morally bankrupt but finds solace in its haughty and arrogant provincialism. The truth is, it deserves to die.

Please excuse our haughty, provincial arrogance. https://t.co/FTnxdisH6o pic.twitter.com/uj7pLr8Yz8

— Hoosierman (@TPerrysburg) March 13, 2016

 

Singing the blues

If you are an economist working as a financial advisor in Nashville and you spot a worrying trend in the economy what do you do? You sing about and the local PBS television station loves you. Jon Shayne, CEO of Nashville-based Shayne & Company, a boutique investment company, began to suspect something was amiss in 2007, a year before the fiscal meltdown. That insight eventually produced his alter ego, Merle Hazard (Merle Haggard; moral hazard). Yes, he is as corny as Hee Haw but his economic opinions are spot on. In this video Ronald Reagan's top economist and creator of the famous Laffer Curve, Arthur Laffer makes a cameo appearance. In another video he has a brief conversation the Stanford's John Taylor, author of the Taylor Rule, an arcane monetary principle relative to the rate of interest. Robert Beren Professor of Economics at Harvard University sees fit to post his videos on his blog. To sum it up, Merle Hazard is no lightweight.
The Federal Reserve's policy of nominal or zero interest rates is in my mind a high wire act. It has never been tried before and the consequences may not surface until it is unwound. "How Long Will Interest Rates Stay Low?" deals with that policy.


If your tastes run to Gospel Music you may want to view "Give Me Old Time Recession" which hearkens back to the days of more modest Fed policy with predicable outcomes/

Disrupters whine when disrupters are kicked out of Trump rally

  So this is a first hand breathy account of a couple Bernie fans crashing a Trump rally. 
  I've bolded certain phrases in this FB post which was written by a Bernie fan who wanted to go to a Trump rally to make fun of it; he was waiting for "jokes...hilarity...comedy..." because the views of the Trump fans are "laughable" but as he waited with his  signs to "yell, scream and what not" to disrupt the Trump rally, he was unsettled to see that "peaceful or violent" Trump disrupters (15-20 groups of them) were kicked out of the rally when they started screaming.
  Once again, we have another case of cognitive dissonance. For some reason, these people can't seem to see how hateful they are being. If you disagree with them, you're the hater, regardless your behavior.
  Why on earth would you go to a rally to disrupt it and then complain that people who disrupted the rally are kicked out? What was he expecting? 
  He describes it as a "ridiculously wacky" situation to start...oh, those nutty kids! 
  Once his buddies start getting kicked out, he can't stop being "horrified" long enough to realize maybe he's interfering with the First Amendment rights of people to gather in a rented venue. 
  It's one thing if you stand outside and protest but it's another if you enter the venue and scream and rush the podium, not to mention attack participants. 
  Their purpose was to create chaos and when they and their kind did, they were "horrified" at the crowd's reaction.
  This is just the kind of pampered milennial behavior and attitudes ZeroHedge talks about in the column: "7 Harsh Realities of Life Milennials Need to Understand." The reality is "the only safe space is in your home." 
  So stay there, ya big babies. 
  Stay home in your safe space, rather than going out to disrupt a rally and promote "chaos and hatred." 
  You won't have to face losing "your innocence and faith in humanity."
  Instead you can stay in your jammies, eat pb&j, watch Care Bears on Netflix all day and complain about all the hate in the world.
  Here's the post, highlights mine:

So, if you know me or my friend [snip] then you know that we often get ourselves into ridiculously wacky situations, especially when we're together. Yesterday was one of those days. We decided to drive down to Fayetteville in order to hear a certain orange politician speak. Yes, you guessed it. We went to a Donald Trump rally. Now, I am not a supporter of Mr. Trump in any way, shape, or form. I'm quite inclined to a certain berning sensation that I've been experiencing for some time. But that's beside the point.

The point is, we thought that we were in for a time of jokes and hilarity. And at the beginning, it was. There were a few speakers before Trump came out and they were not well organized at all. They were comical. One man, a veteran, said that he had shed blood on 7 continents. And unless I missed the great Antartica War, I highly doubt that's true. Let it be knownm for the record, that I am not against veterans in any way shape or form. I just thought that particular comment was funny. Because I doubt he actually wounded someone in Antarctica. But a more plausible explanation would be that he was doing penguin research and accidentally pricked a penguin and it bled. Anyway...

One speaker also said that we needed to get rid of 911 calls and we all need to handle our problems ourselves. Well...that's highly unlikely. I can't imagine that people will start forgoing 911 calls when their house in burning down in order to try and extinguish the fire themselves. But, ya know, it's a nice thought.

So those were my laughable moments. Trump was about to come out.

We had our signs ready. We were going to go all out. Yelling and screaming and whatnot. Because, why else were we there if not to join the spectacle? He comes out. People go crazy. For the first twenty to thirty minutes I sat there with high expectations of hilarity. After half an hour, my feelings turned extremely grim. I was scared and upset. Let me explain.

Trump basically said the same few things the whole time. He knows exactly what will get a cheer from the crowd and he says it. He mentioned his wall several times. About five or six if I can remember correctly. At one point he said "We're going to build a wall. And who's going to pay for it?" And the crowd yelled, "Mexico!" and then they lost their minds. Now, we all know exactly why this is stupid. So I won't elaborate. It was just very unsettling. He mentioned ISIS several times. About ten. But not exactly how to stop ISIS. Just comments like, "We're gonna get ISIS," and "ISIS is going down." Blanket statements. He did say that for America to win again (any sort of winning, not just against ISIS) we have to go outside of the law and he isn't afraid to do it. And that's unsettling for several reasons. But I'm just reporting the facts. 

And that was all he said on policy. Completely void of content or substance. Just statements that would get the crowd cheering. Now, let's talk about the protesters. There were many. I think throughout the hour long rally, there were roughly 15-20 groups of protesters. Some of them were individuals and some were in groups. They popped up throughout the rally here and there. And some of them were yelling and causing a raucous but some of them were just standing there with their anti-Trump shirts or their pro-whoever else shirts. They were all removed. Peaceful or violent. One man had a shirt that said "Love is the answer," and he was thrown out. Trump's comment on this man was, "And love is very important but I mean, who's making love to that guy?" And my stomach churned. A few minutes later, a woman stood up not far from where the other man was and starting protesting. She was removed. Trump's comment was, "She was with the other guy. They're actually a couple. A *clears throat* beautiful *gagging noises* couple." And the crowd laughed and cheered. It was horrifying.

But out of everything I saw, the crowd was the worst part. I have never seen more hateful people in my life. Everyone was just filled with so much hatred. If a protester had a sign, even the peaceful ones, they would take the sign from them, rip it up, and throw it back at the protesters. Whenever a protester would get removed, the crowd would yell horrible things. Once, after a protester was removed, Trump said, "Where are these people coming from? Who are they?" A lady, sitting not 5 feet from me, said, "Well hopefully when you're president, you'll get rid of em all!" Get rid of them?

Get rid of anyone who opposes Trump? It was sickening. I felt truly nauseous. And these people loved the protesters. They loved the drama and the chaos. And Trump fed upon it. It was easily one of the strangest and uncomfortable things I've ever witnessed. I could just hear the horrible things being spoken around me and it made my skin crawl.

Needless to say, there was very little laughter on my part. I thought this was going to be joke...and it was, but for a very different reason. I implore you, if you're thinking about voting for Trump, reconsider. You are only promoting chaos and hatred. I witnessed it firsthand. And trust me, this is not something you want to see in person. This is not what you want to happen to our country. But I'll leave you with this picture we took with our souvenir. This was taken just before I lost all innocence and faith in humanity.

Vile anti-Trump disrupters disgrace themselves

  So apparently being 20 points ahead in Florida has given The Donald the motivation to cancel a rally in Florida and head to Ohio.
  Twitchy notes that 1000 people were signed up to protest Trump and are now horribly disappointed that they can't infringe on the rights of others by squelching free speech PROTEST Trump's appearance.
  Apparently the Florida FB posters/protesters/disrupters see no irony in remarks like this:

JPink Panther I know it's hard for retards who support the GOP to understand the phrase "hate-free."

  Add this to the FNC media etc proclaiming that disrupters at Trump rallies are an "embarrassment" to Trump while never reporting the origin of those disrupters and you can see why voters are disgusted.
  The haters are the disrupters who feel absolutely no compunction about slandering and attacking those who support Trump. This kind of stuff is all over FB, Twitter, Reddit, the web in general, not to mention personal confrontations.
  As I've said many times, I'm not a Trump fan in general but.... 
  

The Sister Souljah moment

  Cruz, Rubio and Kasich have just had their Sister Souljah moment.
  Here I am not referring to Trump as the extremist, though many consider him so.
  In not defending the First Amendment--"we the people's" right to rally, to organize, to meet-- these 3 candidates and their counterparts in the media have just thrown the Republican nomination to Donald Trump.
  Call it what you will.
  Jumping the shark.
  The Dean scream.
  It happened last night.

Cruz, Rubio, Fox News...making a mistake blaming Trump for Chicago

  Anyone who's read my posts (as opposed to my blogging buddy Hoosierman's) knows I'm not a big Trump fan. I've written quite a few posts over my misgivings of his character and methods.
  I make up my own mind, but I thought Carson's support of Trump was thoughtful.
  So in Ohio we vote in primaries on Tuesday. As a political independent, I haven't voted for primary candidates for decades.
  But the mess in Chicago last night has profoundly influenced me both politically and philosophically.
  As I posted yesterday, the protests in St Louis were planned well in advance by Soros and union goons, not to mention anarchists and BLM goons. Gateway Pundit has been on top of the many developments.
  Essentially Chicago can be reduced to this: the First Amendment is endangered in this country.
  Why would a wealthy successful businessman endanger his life this way, by having to be protected by the Secret Service, wear a bullet proof vest everywhere he goes and have his businesses suffer from all the back lash?
  What most disgusts me at this point are the so-called right wingers who are declaring #nevertrump and that Trump himself is at fault for the monsters who attacked the Trump supporters last night, not to mention Cruz's, Rubio's and Kasich's opportunistic attacks on Trump for the organized protesters' bad behavior.
  One Chicago Trump protester claimed that a Trump supporter had no right to crash their party crashing the Trump rally.
  Fox News has been appalling: even this morning Neil Cavuto keeps pushing the whole "Trump's fault" agenda to none other than Jack Welch who is a Cruz supporter and who said Cruz better support the First Amendment. Welch can see that Cruz has missed the boat by his statement.
  Indeed last night FNC reporters claimed there was much "diversity" in the Chicago population....a euphemism for anarchists and BLM thugs.
  The media in general says that "Trump blames thugs" for canceling the rally. Well, DUH! Do they really think Trump would have canceled his rally for any other reason?
  This is what passes for news in this country: blaming a candidate for thousands of organized protesters. So far these are some of the groups we know were involved in ginning up the protest:

• Glenn Beck supporters
• terrorist Bill Ayers
• Black Lives Matter
• Mexican & Muslim protesters 
• white hipsters
• college students
• Soros's Moveon.org
• "peaceniks" claiming those with whom they disagree are "hateful"
• Bernie Sanders' voters
• Socialists
• Occupy Wall Street 
• egged on by US Representative Luis Guttierez
• egged on by University of Chicago faculty
• Chicago activist/s Quo Vadis
• Univision
• anarchists

  I repeat.
  Fox News is making a mistake covering these protests sympathetically. Who's their audience?
  Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio and John Kasich are making a mistake by not supporting free speech and opportunistically blaming Trump for the behavior of thugs and goons. 
  I also have no doubt this was organized to prove there is energy on the Left for the election, presumably energy to match the Trump rush.
  This too is a mistake.
  Bernie's not going to win. What happens then?
  These assaults on free speech will produce exactly the opposite intended effect.
  Cleveland is next.
  Here are your "open minded" "peaceful" loving protesters.

Wow. I see I'm not alone.
Add La Raza (THE RACE)

Ohio judge: 17 year olds can vote

  Note that this is a Bernie Sanders lawsuit, claiming that 17 year olds who will be 18 for the presidential election in November should be able to vote in the primaries.
  Guess that means ID will play a role in an election. Huh. Thought Democrats didn't go for that, except for their own elections and votes.
  WTOL:

An Ohio judge has granted a request to let 17-year-olds vote in the swing state's presidential primary.

Ohio allows 17-year-olds who will be 18 before the fall election to vote in Tuesday's primary, with some limits. For instance, they can't vote on ballot issues, but can decide on congressional, legislative and mayoral contenders.

Yuge protests planned for St. Louis

  As the reality show rolls on, we learn that BLM is organizing large scale protests at the Trump rally in St. Louis. From Gateway Pundit who is located in the St. Louis area:

The fascist Donald Trump is coming to our city this Friday. It is our job and our duty to unite to #ShutItDown.

UPDATE: **Buying tickets and then not showing up WILL NOT BE EFFECTIVE. Peabody Opera House will be filled with overflow crowd if people with tickets do not show up. Make sure to spread this as well.**

If you would like assistance from us to help protect your safety, please feel free to message us and we will be making the proper connections as needed in the near future. If you got a ticket and would like to attend the actual Trump Rally, get there early! His website says doors open at 9AM, with the rally starting at noon, and we’re sure others will be there even earlier than that.

The safety of everyone either at the rally or part of our efforts is our top priority. Several measures will be taken to ensure this is upheld.

  But the BLM crowd is to be admired, IMHO. This whole "lives matter" business has really caught on!
  Witness 40 minutes down the road from us at Ann Arbor, the little Moscow, where they are protesting a deer cull (not human abortions, mind you, which are not "killing ourselves," but deer control).

Opponents of the Ann Arbor deer cull instead urged contraceptives or other non-lethal, but potentially more expensive, methods of population control.

“Deer lives matter, and all lives matter. We are all one in spirit.” activists chanted at the memorial. “When we kill the deer, we kill ourselves.”

   Watch the memorial rally video! Deer lives matter!

  There's a deer memorial pictorial here. It's quite moving. Really!
  So forge on, BLM! You are right on the money protesting Trump. I think he might know how to deal with you!

the misspeller deer hunter is found here

 

Ohio Republican voters: watch out for a confusing ballot

  So apparently the Ohio Republican ballot is really confusing because Republican voters get to vote twice on the Republican ballot....but only one vote counts.
  Duh? How much more messed up can the Republican party get.
  Here's an article on the problem.
  The key solution is this:

The Secretary of State’s office that oversees elections says both boxes will be tallied – but the Ohio Republican Party says only one will count.
“Because there are two pathways to selecting delegates to represent Ohio at the convention, voters must vote twice – once for the congressional district delegate and once for delegate at-large,” said party spokeswoman Brittany Warner. “The votes that will be counted to determine the results are the delegates at-large.”

  Anyway here's a video explaining the confusion. 

The pros & cons of Donald Trump, post debate review

  So I've let the last horrendous debate settle into my thinking so I wouldn't rant incoherently in this post. 
  Though I'm still struggling with the whole incoherence thing while watching this clown show play out, I've reached a few conclusions. Well, for today anyway.
  I am not a Trump fan. 

•   His lack of verbal discipline is unnerving. 
•   He shoots out ideas like an out of control garden hose. 
•   He can be mean. 
•   He's had many failures. His ideology seems to swing with whomever he spoke with last. 
•   He claims to be a Christian but says he's never had to ask God for forgiveness, thus obviating his claim. 
•   He's profane. 
•   He's switched positions numerous times. 

   In an attempt to stay positive, which is admittedly difficult these days. Here are the counter arguments:

•   Conversely, his politically incorrect speech is refreshing. We are sick of the pc censorship crowd who won't limit their own speech but want to limit speech they don't like, which is everything that isn't their own.
•   His many ideas are typical of an entrepreneur who's tried and succeeded/failed to make money through numerous outlets. This is the way creativity works in business. Somebody thinks of providing a service or item the public needs or can use. Voila.
•   His current ideology is what I (and many others) want to hear. We're sick of American jobs going to immigrants who move here to take them, don't want to wait in line, and immigrants who want to move here just for all the free stuff. We have enough lazy citizens without importing the world. It's like leaving the refrigerator door open on a hot day expecting it will act as an air conditioner for the rest of the house.
•   Donald Trump mean? That's what we need dealing with some of the world out there today. Mean? How about the hardball Democrats play hardball all the time. Republicans are namby pambies when it comes to fighting Leftists. They're namby pambies when it comes to articulating reasons for conservatism and/or Republicanism.

•   Not a Christian? Well, the thing is that, as Dallas's Jeffress says over at Breitbart (interesting read, btw), 

“Some Christians, including a well-known Christian author, have denounced Trump for his ‘tone’ and ‘vocabulary.’ However, when I’m looking for a leader who is going to sit across the table from Iran or confront radical Islamic terrorists, I don’t care about that leader’s tone or vocabulary. I want the toughest, meanest, son-of-a-gun I can find!” Jeffress adds.

    Numerous evangelicals complain about Trump as a non-Christian, but I must confess I weary of Ted Cruz's repeated and public calls for prayer, not to mention Glenn Beck's insane rants about Trump.

•   He's switched positions? Reminder: the Gang of Eight. This assumes the people who are in office now will not betray us, will not switch positions. So who can we trust?

  Trump certainly isn't the person I would choose, if I could personally control how this election goes, but I'm fed up with so-called conservatives who say they won't vote for Trump EVEN if it means a Communist or the crazed liar Clinton will be elected.
  This is nonsense.
  Daniel Greenfield at Front Page:

Political campaigns can get ugly and Trump’s style is, at times, to get as nasty as possible, but it’s a sign of misplaced insider priorities to allow personal animus to matter more than the war against the left. It’s not unreasonable for some conservatives to be angry at Trump and his tactics. It is unreasonable to let that anger turn into a petulance that would let the left rule the nation for another eight years.

   Barack Obama started the trash talk against half this country. Barack Obama, the media, Hollywood and the DWSs of the Democrat party have been trashing our side of the aisle as Nazis for years. 
  The Christian Post (which has ties to George Soros...surprise!), Mitt Romney, Erick Erickson and Brit Hume can all go pound sand if they think they'll keep people like me--not especially Trump fans--from voting against Hillary Clinton or Bernie.
  But I agree with Don Surber on this. 

I want to make this clear: I, too, want someone better than Donald Trump as the next president of the United States.
But the truth is, Republicans have no one better. In the marketplace of ideas, he made his case and won.
You think I am happy with this? I am not. But I accept the vote of the public in 15 states.

  The fools who have been running this party could not make a case articulately against any  Democrat. Now they're gunning for a guy much of the country actually wants to actually fight against those thugs. Where was Romney then? Assuming he'd already won?
   Don Surber again on that "butt ugly debate":

The circus on Fox News last night should end the debate season entirely. The Republican National Convention sold 400 of the 450 seats to braying jackasses, and Trump, Rubio and Cruz acted the fool. Kasich stayed out of it. I bailed after 30 minutes.

  No more debates. Please.
  In an ideal world, we'd be able to get rid of the insipid Reince Priebus.
  And seriously?
  If this is the will of the people and the Republican elite continue to work to thwart them, there will be hell to pay, both from the former Republicans and the former Democrats who support Trump.
   So, like, feel the burn, you judgmentalists.
  I'll do what I think is best for this country.

Romney 2016???? See document here

  No, this is not 2012.
  What is this?
  See it here.
 

Mitt blunders again

  I'm not a big Trump fan.
  I have to say, however, Romney's Trump excoriations today really lowered Romney in my opinion, especially if you listen to the gusher Romney emitted after Trump endorsed Romney for POTUS a few years back.
  I always thought Romney was a good man, which was about the only thing he had going for him as far as I'm concerned.
  I hope Trump doesn't get nasty hitting back at Romney because Romney represents the Republican establishment and, in the long run, people need to coalesce around whoever the nominee is.
  I also hope Trump turns the tables on Romney by graciously pointing out that Romney was only too willing to appear on stage with him when ROMNEY was running for office.
  Today Romney represented everyone and every thing that the electorate has grown to hate.
  Criticizing Trump for inheriting money from his father?
  Being a good businessman?
  Making money?
  Having business opponents who take you to court?
  Being sued?
  These are all things Romney himself faced.
  Big mistake, Mitt.
  You didn't make the case for Republicanism or conservatism yourself but you're only too eager to jump out against Trump?
  I don't think so.

Lights out for Rubio? The establishment stumbles.

  Rubio may just have finished himself.
  Those of us who watched Fox News have noticed the bias in recent days; now, some of it may really be just certain personalities' (Brit Hume, Krauthammer, Hayward) glum outlooks toward Trump.
  But Roger Ailes has admitted they have been biased for the Republican establishment by saying FNC is now "finished" with the "Rubio thing."
  Today Breitbart has an exclusive story about Rubio's campaign manager plotting to overthrow Trump at the convention.
  From Breitbart:

Donald Trump doesn’t choose his delegates for the national convention, I don’t choose Marco Rubio’s, Ted Cruz doesn’t choose his. These are people –in many cases who have already started the process, they ran on a slate at their precinct, then it was GOP conventions, then at their state conventions, to become a delegate for the national convention. Some of you I know have been delegates in the national convention here, different way, different state, it’s a pretty laborious process. It is generally not someone who just – a casual voter if you will, or someone who is just suddenly energized. These are people who have been involved in the process for a long time, have relationships with other activists, because you’re elected at your state convention. So why that’s important—and I know I’m side tracking, but this is an important [point]—when you show up at the convention, if I just say, ‘I want to go to Cleveland, because well it’s a fun place to go hangout in July—thank you Reince Priebus. After I spend 15 minutes at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.’ Most of the people go to these conventions because they believe in the Republican Party, they believe in a core set of issues, they’ve been doing this for a while.

In continuing to explain it, Sullivan even admitted that the debate audiences have been stacked against Trump and for Rubio—something the Rubio campaign and the Republican National Committee (RNC) have repeatedly denied. 

We've seen the Republican Establishment freak out with the prospect of Trump as the candidate; numerous establishment PACs have poured money into Rubio and against Trump.
  In addition, Rubio has been behaving badly, mocking Trump with sexual innuendo and trying to trump Trump but it hasn't worked. Instead he seems like a frantic schoolboy.
  Rubio has canceled trips to Kentucky and Louisiana.
  Breitbart points out that Rubio has the worst attendance record at his job of representing the American people.
  This will not stand with the American people, many of whom already perceive the system as stacked against the people for the establishment, who all want to keep their special designations and DC parking spots.
  Romney's speech this morning will do nothing to stop Trump; in fact, it will motivate Trump voters even more. 
  Romney may be a good man, but he's part of the establishment and a failed candidate who chose not to articulate the reasons to vote for a Republican and make a clear case against Democrat corruption.
   We've definitely noticed those packed audiences, the cheering and jeering for the establishment favored candidates. 
  And guess what.
  Tonight's Michigan debate audience has been chosen by the chair of the Michigan Republican party whose name is Ronna Romney McDaniel.
  If this debate goes the way the others have gone, the Trumpsters--many of whom are Reagan Democrats & blue collar workers-- will go crazy. Crazy.
  Both parties have disgraced themselves.
  Let the Revolution roll. 

Republican elite, get with it. You're on your way out.

  Well, now that Super Tuesday is over, maybe things will settle down.
  Said no one.
  Personally I'm disgusted with the whole thing, as well as entertained. I'm not sure I can sit through one more backbiting debate, though the more I watch this race the more I think we're fighting like the screaming arguments in British "collaboration" or the fistfights that occasionally erupt in Asian or Russian politics.
  Though Marco now actually won one state, his presidential future is doubtful, IMHO. There are some pretty nasty rumors out there about him, rumors I thought were dispelled, yet most Americans seem to be willing to overlook youthful indisgressions and are sick of these ad hominem attacks.
  Mostly, though, Marco can't carry off the kind of slippery jeering where Trump excels; instead he looks small and petty. Frankly I'm not sure why Trump is able to amuse while Rubio irritates but it was the consensus in my houseland that Rubio's behaving like an immature, well, I won't write that word.
  I did catch Trump's son on Bill Bennett's radio show the other day and I have to say he was quite reasonable; I have a better view of Trump since hearing that interview. You don't get kids like that without positive input.
  What's most remarkable about the current state of affairs is the absolute bafflement that the Republican establishment and the media have over what's happening around the country. I don't remember our country ever being so polarized, even in the civil rights era of unrest.
  One wonders how the Democrat front runner can be under investigation by the FBI, has a reputation for lying and has put our country's security at risk and yet NO MEDIA are even interested in her behavior.
  And let's not even mention Bernie's unsustainable political positions or his questionable (illegal) campaign contributions because, hey, Obama did the same thing.
  Meh. Who cares?
  But now Donald Trump's hands.....there's a story!
  Instead we have long expositions on the size of Donald Trump's hands, a discussion Rubio started with the usual high school boy's sexual innuendo.
  Personally I'm furious with both the Republicans & Democrats.
  I'm not a fan, but if the American people overwhelmingly want Donald Trump, it really pisses me off that the elite are hard at work planning to cheat them and I can't even imagine how furious people will be if the people are circumvented.
  This video is a good representation of what many people are thinking. Of course, it's MSNBC, but Fox News has definitely discredited itself by biased reporting and Brit Hume's glum face as Trump continues his grand sweep through the electorate.
  Turnout has been remarkable. The Republican elite reminds me of a turtle stuck on its back, legs flailing, desperately trying to right itself.
  Whatever's happening is big.
  What is it about a national revolution do the elites not get?